Silver in Provincials for Attack U-13

Tuesday, 23 April 2013 05:17

The Oxford Attack Under 13 Bantam Boys competitive basketball team finished with a hard fought 2nd place silver medal in their division at the Ontario Basketball Association Provincial Championships in Kingston. The Attack started the tournament against the eventual gold medal winning Ancaster Magic and struggled to contain the Magic?s tallest post player and fell 45-33. Callaghan Bullen netted 11 points in a tough loss opening loss for the Attack. The Attack next faced the formidable Peterborough Power which fielded 4 players taller than the Attack tallest player. The Attack?s interior post players battled admirably but the Attack fell by a slim 46-43 margin to begin pool play at 0-2. Brandon Cowan led the Attack scoring with 17 points. The Attack?s final chance to advance to the medal round was to gain a decisive win over the Milton Stags in their last game of pool play. The Attack jumped on the Stags early; raced out to a 22-3 lead and completed a large margin of victory win 56-33 thereby ensuring a chance to play in the medal round on Sunday by winning the plus / minus battle versus Peterborough and Milton - the two other one win teams in the Attack?s pool of teams. Cowan continued to lead the Attack in scoring with 21 points but Quinten Quackenbush-Schneider also chipped in 10 big points by leading the Attack fast break. Liam Dempsey and Cubby Dempster each took turns neutralizing Milton?s main guard scoring threat. In the medal round semi-final the Attack faced the unbeaten York Stingers. York had easily marched through their draw in pool play and represented a great test for the Attack. The Attack fell behind early and were down by 8 points late in the 3rd quarter. The Attack began to full court press and forced York into numerous turnovers and the Attack eventually took the lead halfway through the 4th quarter. The Attack ran their stall offense with 3 minutes to play, forcing the Stingers to foul and put the Attack on the free throw line. Cowan nailed 7 out of 8 free throws late in the game to seal the comeback victory 48-39, thus ensuring the Attack a re-match in the gold medal game versus their nemesis the Ancaster Magic. The Attack game planned to stop Ancaster?s big post player but came out flat and tired defensively and fell to Ancaster 68-55 in the gold medal game. Dempsey, Dempster and Bullen each netted 7 points for the Attack. Cowan got hot late from the 3-point line hitting 5 3?s to finish with 23 points but the Attack could not catch the Magic and settled for a well-deserved provincial silver medal. The Attack finished their OBA season with a commendable 23-17 record. The Oxford Attack U13 boys sincerely thank their parents and the Woodstock / Oxford community for its support and local sponsorships.